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The purpose of this study is to survey the landscape of online collections of digital games.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to survey the landscape of online collections of digital games.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the study identifies existing sites hosting collections and criteria that make a collection valuable for research, then it reports on sites that fit the criteria and analyzes trends.
Findings
Most sites provide simple binary downloads, but some choose encapsulation. Common metadata terms consistently include genre, year of release and publisher. Most sites claim the right to provide their collections as “abandonware,” but remove games if they are asked to.
Research limitations/implications
This study was conducted using a very limited subcategory of digital games, which could be expanded in other studies. Future research may require a multilingual team to account for collections based in non–English-speaking countries. Direct communication with sites’ management may be valuable in the future as well, but was not conducted in this study.
Practical implications
The study identifies practices that have developed organically in this field without any guiding standards. Understanding these may aid in Humanities research into digital games, as well as potential collection development in the future.
Social implications
Digital games are increasingly important as cultural artifacts, and there is a growing effort to preserve them for the future, but there are no standards for collecting and providing them. Understanding how this is currently done can help in providing access into the future for both casual and analytical use.
Originality/value
While game preservation is a growing and active field of research, no study has been published in recent years on this particular subject. It will be valuable for the development of future collections and for research using current ones.
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This paper examines the changes in Macao's gaming public policy following the 2022 revision of the gaming law. The revision introduces more regulations on the gaming industry and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the changes in Macao's gaming public policy following the 2022 revision of the gaming law. The revision introduces more regulations on the gaming industry and highlights the gaming industry's contribution to economic diversification, anti-money laundering and national security. The paper analyzes the economic, cultural and political factors that motivated these changes and evaluates the effectiveness of the new gaming public policy.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper compares the different versions of Macao's gaming laws and the gaming laws of Nevada and New Jersey, using a qualitative approach to interpret the meanings behind the law text.
Findings
The paper reveals that Macao's gaming public policy has changed significantly. The revised policy focuses more on economic diversification than the growth of the gaming industry and imposes more responsibilities on the gaming operators. It predicts that Macao's gaming industry will face more difficulties in increasing its market share in the next decade.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper can help the Macao government assess its gaming public policy and other governments learn from the complex situation when developing their public policies.
Social implications
The findings of this paper can enhance the understanding of Macao's gaming laws and the reality of Macao's gaming industry.
Originality/value
This paper is the first in academia to address Macao's new public policy toward gaming.
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Simin An, Bo Li, Minxue Wang and Wei Zheng
This paper explores the effectiveness of using blockchain technology to solve financial constraints faced by small- and medium-sized suppliers in a capital-constrained supply…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the effectiveness of using blockchain technology to solve financial constraints faced by small- and medium-sized suppliers in a capital-constrained supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
To characterize the impact of blockchain on credit period and enterprise credit level, the study formulates a newsvendor model to analyze a supply chain in which a financially constrained supplier sells products to a financially sound manufacturer, subject to uncertain demand. The study investigates three repayment methods: the benchmark case without blockchain and two blockchain-enabled cases with the hybrid repayment mode and single repayment mode (SRM), respectively. The study derives and compares the equilibria under each repayment method to characterize their impact.
Findings
When the bank interest rate is low and the carbon cap is also low, choosing to implement blockchain technology leads to higher profitability for the manufacturer than not utilizing it. Within the framework of blockchain technology, when comparing the two repayment models, the manufacturer exhibits a preference for SRM. Furthermore, under specific conditions of the bank interest rate, blockchain technology can effectively facilitate consensus among supply chain members in terms of channel selection.
Practical implications
The results derived in this paper provide novel managerial implications to the capital-constrained members in terms of pricing decisions and order quantity under demand uncertainty considering blockchain technology, which transfers the creditor's rights to the bank and shortens the collection time. In addition, blockchain technology enables efficient and intelligent collaborative development of supply chains, which can reduce carbon emissions during the transportation of goods.
Originality/value
Few studies incorporate blockchain technology into supply chain finance, and this paper considers the credit period and capital's time value for a capital-constrained supplier facing the adoption of blockchain technology within a stochastic demand environment.
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Ting Tang, Haiyan Xu, Kebing Chen and Zhichao Zhang
The purpose of the study is to investigate the financing channels and carbon emission abatement preferences of supply chain members, and further examine the optimal contract…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to investigate the financing channels and carbon emission abatement preferences of supply chain members, and further examine the optimal contract design of the retailer.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper develops a low-carbon supply chain composed of one retailer and one manufacturer, in which the retailer provides trade credit to the manufacturer. Considering the cap-and-trade regulation, the manufacturer with uncertain yield makes decision on whether to invest in emission abatement. There are bank loan and trade credit to finance production for the manufacturer and green credit to finance emission abatement investment. Meanwhile, the retailer may provide the manufacturer with three kinds of contracts to improve emission abatement efficiency, namely, revenue sharing, cost sharing or both sharing.
Findings
The results show that the retailer prefers to offer financing service at lower interest rate, but trade (and green) credit financing is always optimal for manufacturer and supply chain. The investment in emission abatement is value-added to all players. The sharing contracts offered by the retailer at lower sharing ratios can realize Pareto improvement of the system regardless of the financing scheme. However, comparing with the revenue or cost sharing contract, the existence of optimal sharing ratios makes the both sharing contract more favorable to the retailer.
Practical implications
The findings provide guidance for the emission-dependent manufacturer in financing and emission abatement decisions, as well as recommendations for the retailer to offer loan service and sharing contract.
Originality/value
This paper integrates green credit into bank loan or trade credit to analyze the financing decision of the manufacturer with uncertain yield and further considers the influence of three kinds of sharing contracts introduced by the retailer on improving operational performance.
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Davide Calandra, Michele Oppioli, Razieh Sadraei, Vahid Jafari-Sadeghi and Paolo Pietro Biancone
Considering the pervasiveness of technology, this article offers an understanding of how the metaverse can impact digital entrepreneurship. The objective will be to gather…
Abstract
Purpose
Considering the pervasiveness of technology, this article offers an understanding of how the metaverse can impact digital entrepreneurship. The objective will be to gather professional evidence on how the revival of this new technology can bring entrepreneurial development.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a qualitative study approach based on applying the metaverse in digital business contexts and analysing 533 practitioner sources from the Nexis Uni database, it will be possible to identify the concepts and application techniques of this emerging technology. The research adopts a qualitative methodology based on a mixed thematic and content review using tools such as ATLAS.ti and Leximancer.
Findings
This study finds three relevant macro-topics for metaverse and digital entrepreneurship (technology, immersive and design) and eight concepts (private solutions, digital twins, gamification, public solutions, new business worlds, co-design, collaborative spaces and stakeholders' participation). The uncovered elements demonstrate professionals' interest in a new mode of digital entrepreneurship using the metaverse. This interest highlights the commitment of companies and entrepreneurs toward discovering new services delivered in virtual and parallel worlds that find the creation of digital twins as their essence. Therefore, the study explores ongoing relationships for developing increasingly technically complex metaverse platforms and customer service offerings.
Research limitations/implications
The study has some limitations as the selection of the database and the way the cases are focused on, which may be a stimulus for future studies. The analysis has innumerable theoretical and practical implications. In the first case, this research will shed light on an empirical case concerning the conceptual difference between innovation or greater transformation of business models through the metaverse. This work will directly contribute to the global discussion by identifying a model for applying emerging technology to digital entrepreneurs. Finally, from a practical point of view, the authors will provide new insights to digital entrepreneurs by showing them applications, best practices, and platforms they can use for their businesses.
Practical implications
On a practical level, the authors show practical opportunities coming from the metaverse for digital entrepreneurs. This study may inspire CEOs, managers, and future entrepreneurs to use the metaverse to expand their businesses by diversifying their services into numerous sectors.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study represents one of the first efforts to study the metaverse by framing it from theoretical and practical perspectives of digital entrepreneurship. Additionally, future research implications may guide researchers in this brilliant research field.
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Haoyu Gao, Ruixiang Jiang, Junbo Wang and Xiaoguang Yang
This chapter investigates the cost of public debt for firms using a comprehensive sample consisting of 17,368 industrial bond issues from 1970 to 2011. The empirical evidence…
Abstract
This chapter investigates the cost of public debt for firms using a comprehensive sample consisting of 17,368 industrial bond issues from 1970 to 2011. The empirical evidence shows that yield spreads for seasoned bond issues are significantly lower than those for initial bond issues. This seasoning effect is robust across different sample periods, subsamples, and model specifications. On average, the yield spreads for seasoned bond issues are around 50 bps lower than those for initial bond issues. This difference cannot be explained by other bond and firm characteristics. The seasoning effect is more pronounced for firms with higher levels of uncertainty, lower information disclosure quality, and longer time intervals between the first and subsequent issues. Our empirical findings provide supportive evidence for the extant theories that aim to rationalize the information role in determining the cost of capital.
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This paper aims to analyse trends and determinants of NPAs in India's banks. It has empirically examined the bank-specific determinants of NPAs.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse trends and determinants of NPAs in India's banks. It has empirically examined the bank-specific determinants of NPAs.
Design/methodology/approach
An FE panel estimation of a sample of 44 banks was carried out for the post-crisis time period, from 2010 to 2020 to identify the bank-specific determinants of NPAs. The sample of 44 banks includes 20 PSBs, 19 private banks and 5 foreign banks. Separate FE estimation was also carried out to identify the drivers of NPAs in PSBs.
Findings
The determinant of NPAs during the post-crisis period suggests that faulty earning management and deterioration in loan quality have resulted in high NPAs in India's banks. The result is similar for PSBs as well.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of the study suggest that the banks, especially the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) need to revisit their earning management strategies to maximise income and improve their loan quality in order to reduce the incidence of loan failure.
Originality/value
The paper contributes by empirically analysing the determinants of NPAs during the recent decade, between 2010 and 2020. Separate estimations have been carried out to understand whether the drivers of NPAs differ in the case of PSBs.
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Muhammad Asim Afridi and Muhammad Tahir
This paper investigates the factors crucial for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in establishing business relationships with banks in Pakistan.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the factors crucial for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in establishing business relationships with banks in Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
To investigate how SMEs select banking relationships using criteria, such as decision factors, decision-makers, and decision processes, a comprehensive literature review was used to classify SMEs' decision factors for bank selection. A survey questionnaire was distributed to 200 SMEs, randomly selected from the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority database in Pakistan. Probit/Tobit model is estimated to explain the behavior of SMEs.
Findings
The results reveal that SMEs consider a bank's Reputation, Price, and Location essential while establishing bank relationships. SMEs tend to terminate relationships with banks when the Price and Location of the bank are considered essential factors in the relationship with the banks. Price and Location are necessary for SMEs to reduce banking relationships. The SMEs also tend to reduce if they get attractive offers, or the SMEs are recommended to make a banking relationship. This study also provides intuitions for bank policymakers to design policies to retain SME customers and attract new business relationships.
Practical implications
The research emphasizes the importance of competitive and transparent pricing strategies in designing products for SMEs. Banks must prioritize their Reputation and credibility to attract and retain relationships with SMEs.
Originality/value
The study attempts to provide evidence on the SME-Bank relationship focusing on the factors that are crucial for SMEs to decide while establishing business relationships with banks. Also, most of the related literature focuses on developed countries; this research adds to the literature on SMEs' behavior, particularly in a developing country's context.
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Kittiphod Charoontham and Thunyarat Amornpetchkul
This study aims to investigate a startup accelerator’s decisions toward exerting effort in an information acquisition process and selecting an information disclosure strategy. In…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate a startup accelerator’s decisions toward exerting effort in an information acquisition process and selecting an information disclosure strategy. In particular, the authors are interested in examining which factors may cause the accelerator to report more or less accurate information, which will subsequently affect the investment decision and the outcome of the ventures. This study examines the impact of the equity share taken by the accelerator on the effort level being exerted in the information acquisition process, as well as the accelerator’s decision on the information disclosure regime.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use mathematical models built upon well-established theoretical and practical concepts to analyze the research problems and derive the findings.
Findings
The authors show that when the accelerator takes a sufficiently large equity share from the entrepreneur in exchange for admitting the entrepreneur’s venture into the acceleration program, the accelerator is motivated to exert a significant level of effort to observe an accurate signal for the quality of the venture, and then disclose the information about the venture’s quality consistently with the observed signal (informative disclosure regime). On the other hand, if the accelerator takes a small equity share, it is optimal for her to exert no effort in the information acquisition process and simply adopt the basic disclosure regime, where the accelerator reports the quality of the venture based solely on the ex ante expected payoff of the venture, regardless of the observed signal.
Practical implications
The results indicate that an equity sharing scheme, which awards a sufficient amount of equity to the accelerator, can be an effective tool to help obtain accurate information about the quality of a startup venture and make a well-informed investment decision.
Originality/value
This research illustrates that the ownership stake of the accelerator can potentially indicate the accuracy of the information about the venture provided by the accelerator to outside investors. That is, when the stake held by the accelerator is large, the investors can conjecture that the information about the venture reported by the accelerator may be highly accurate and reliable. In contrast, if the accelerator holds a small stake, then it is likely that the information provided by the accelerator may not add any value to the publicly available information. These insights can guide investors (e.g. angle investors, venture capitalists, etc.) in making well-informed startup investment decisions.
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Pui Kuan Tina Fan, Ja Young (Jacey) Choe and Yeseul Na
This study explores the linkages between various attributes, consequences and values of casino restaurants and the differences in the hierarchical value maps between female and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the linkages between various attributes, consequences and values of casino restaurants and the differences in the hierarchical value maps between female and male customers and between casino players and non-casino players.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted using the means-end chain (MEC) theory. The data were collected using the hard-laddering method. Two hundred forty-one responses were analyzed.
Findings
Attributes such as “taste,” “reasonable prices,” and “discounts” were associated with the values “personal happiness,” “considered,” “life satisfaction,” and “life-quality enhancement” at casino restaurants. Males were found to hold “prompt services” as important when dining at casino restaurants, while females held a “spacious environment” to be critical. Furthermore, “use of casino complimentary credits” was important to casino players, while “free parking” and “comfortable seats” mattered for non-casino players.
Practical implications
It is suggested that casinos add more Asian cuisines in their casino restaurants in Macao to attract customers who value culinary and cultural exploration while simultaneously satisfying tourists from neighboring regions who wish to enjoy familiar foods when they visit Macao. In addition, the authors recommend that casinos develop menu items that can be served quickly to casino players.
Originality/value
This study is based on the MEC theory and broadens the range of studies on casino restaurants. Furthermore, it provides useful information to guide casino restauranteurs in developing their marketing and operational strategies for different customer segments.
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